The Life and Times of Bellatrix Black Lestrange
by B. Cameron
Summary: Weep now or never more! See! on yon drear and rigid bier low lies thy love, Lenore! Come! let the burial rite be read - the funeral song be sung! ...A dirge for her the doubly dead in that she died so young." -"Lenore" Edgar Allan Poe
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Screams of pain came from the back of the house. Under any normal circumstance, they might have taken her to St. Mungos's, however, this was no ordinary circumstance.

For now, Druella Black ceased to scream. She clutched her husband's hand; her knuckles blanched. She was pale and drenched in sweat. In her stony dark eyes, her husband, Cygnus, saw distinct fear, doubt, regret and so many other things.

A midwife passed a bundle of bloody sheets to another. Both women were little more than neighbors.

After another two hours, the midwives guessed it was time enough to get this child out into the world and demanded Druella try pushing.

Finally, after seven hours of laborious pain, a baby girl was born. Strangely, the baby didn't carry on or fuss at all. Instead, she gazed up in wonder at the world she had come into. The only noise she made sounded like an infantile giggle as she was cleaned and wrapped and passed into her mother's arms.

"Think this is all funny, do you? Putting your poor mummy through hell for seven hours?"

The baby's rosy lips stretched into a smile, eyes glimmering with innocence.

"Her name?" asked a midwife.

"Bellatrix," Cygnus looked up from his wife and newborn daughter, "Bellatrix Black."

He was now the proud father of a pureblooded daughter (his firstborn), descending from a powerful family. And he thought she was flawless.

She had her father's eyes- steel blue and sparkling, and his narrow, pointed nose. However, she had her mother's dark curly hair, and her chin.

From that night on, Cygnus was infatuated, if not obsessed with her.

At age four, Bellatrix had two younger sisters; Andromeda, now two, and Narcissa, three months at the time. Still, Cygnus favored Bellatrix. His next weakness was Narcissa; and while he loved Andromeda, he was not quite as passionate about the two of them. Druella did not approve of his playing favorites, but made a point to make this up to Andromeda and Narcissa.

It was possible that Druella was jealous of Cygnus' devotion to Bellatrix. Many accounts in her life would prove this to be true.

"Happy birthday, my pet," Cygnus had Bella on his knee. It was her fifth birthday. He took a blue velvet box from the table beside them and handed it to her.

The box itself was almost the size of her head, but thin enough for her to wrap her fingers around. "Let me help you, darling heart," he put his hands over hers and pushed on the clasp holding it shut. Inside was a silver locket, shaped into a circle and studded with green and steel blue sapphires.

"Cygnus, do you really think that's a practical gift for a child?" Druella asked, but Bellatrix was already in love with it. It now sat perfectly in her palm.

"Look, she likes it; don't you Bella? Leave her be, Druella," he told his wife, who scowled angrily, but looked down at Narcissa wiggling in her arms. " It'll be a little big for now, but you'll grow," Cygnus was able to slip the silver chain over her head, where it hung against her heart.

"Thank you, papa," she twisted at the waist to hug him, snuggling into his chest.

Andromeda was still a bit young to be envious, and in any case, she was far too busy tottering along behind their cousin, six year old Sirius.

Sirius' brother, Regulus, sat in his mother's lap. The four year old wriggled free from Walburga's arms and walked over to Bellatrix. "C'mon Bellatrix, let's go play outside!"

Bellatrix gave Cygnus a peck on the cheek and climbed down from his knee, chasing Regulus out to the back yard.

The children chased each other around for a while, until they grew bored. Regulus decided it would be a good idea to go for a swim in the pond.

The pond itself looked like little more than a puddle in the yard. Bellatrix could see the bottom, until she got into it. It was rather deep and fish swam down in those depths, tantalizing her toes. She tried to talk Regulus out of it, having tried this once herself and almost drowned; but Cygnus had been there to pull her out.

"Nah, it'll be fun," he said, kicking off his shoes and taking off his sweater.

"The fish will eat your toes, cousin. They'll gobble them like biscuits," Bella said, folding her arms matter-of-factly.

"Chicken," he said, sitting on the ground.

"I am not a chicken!" Bella said quite furious with him.

"Chicken," he repeated and put his feet in the water.

"I hope the fish eat you up like a pasty."

"Fish don't eat people."

"I'm telling. You're not supposed to play in there."

"Stop bein' a chicken and come swimming with me."

Finally, she was angry with him and pushed him in. He sunk for a moment and bobbed back up, gasping for air. He sunk again and floundered around trying to keep above the surface.

Walburga heard the splashing from across the yard where she was watching Sirius and Andromeda play. Her attention turned, and Bellatrix walked her way.

"I think he's being eaten by the fish," she said plainly, not particularly interested in whether her cousin would live or die, as Walburga got to her feet and ran to the pond and dug him out.

Regulus stood at the pond's edge, quivering and wet while Walburga went to get a towel.

"I told you so," Bellatrix walked up to him, her arms still crossed. "Silly boy."

And from then on, Bellatrix never went near the pond and neither did Regulus.

It was boiling hot, but Druella was going mad with her daughters in the house, so she sent them outside with a now eight year old Bellatrix as their watcher. While Andromeda and Narcissa chased each other around the yard playing a game of "catch me," Bellatrix lay sprawled out on the cool grass under the shade of a willow tree.

She rolled from her back over to her stomach, propping herself up on her forearms just as a little rat skittered by. Bellatrix grabbed him by the tail and held him still for a moment. She took her hand away, and yet he stayed put.

She fixed her gaze on him and shortly thereafter he began to fidget uncomfortably at first. Fidgeting soon became writhing and writhing became churning. The rat squealed in misery, clawing at the ground trying desperately to escape.

Andromeda and Narcissa wandered over.

"Bellatrix, what're you doing?" Andromeda asked, mildly concerned. She and Narcissa watched for a moment. Narcissa seemed somewhat entertained while

Andromeda became increasingly horrified.

"Let him up, you're hurting him," Andromeda pleaded, but Bellatrix ignored her.  
"What else can you make him do?" Narcissa asked.

"Stop that right now!" Andromeda screamed.  
"Make him do something else, Bella," Narcissa persisted.  
Andromeda had vanished. She'd gone to find Druella.  
"Bella!" Narcissa demanded, hating to be ignored.  
"Shut up, Cissy," Bellatrix snapped.

"Mummy! Make her stop!" Andromeda had returned and buried her face in Druella's stomach to avoid having to watch.

"Bellatrix Black, you stop that right this instant!" Druella jerked her up by her wrist.

The rat scurried away, grateful that his life had been spared and seeking shelter

"Don't you ever do that again!" Druella snapped, dragging Bella back to the house for her punishment, "If I ever find you doing that, so help me you'll regret it! Understand?!" Bellatrix nodded.

Druella brought her into the kitchen and pushed her into a corner. "Stand there."

Bellatrix did as she was told, figuring she'd be beaten for this. A few moments passed, and she felt her stomach knotting. "Mum…my stomach," she groaned. But it seemed Druella wasn't paying attention. Bella stood there rubbing at the cramp in her stomach, but it seemed to grow worse the longer she stood. "Mummy, can I have a chair to sit in?" she asked, but still received no response.

Suddenly, she felt something so sharp in her stomach, she fell to her knees coughing. "Mum?" she pleaded. Her eyes were pooling with tears. Eventually, Bella was sprawled in the corner; a small puddle of tears on the ceramic tiles as she laid there trying to breathe.

Cygnus walked in on this and snapped. "Druella, what're you doing?!" He shouted at her, ripping Druella's wand from her grasp. The entire time, she'd been hexing Bellatrix.

Bella heaved in a large breath as the pain subsided and coughed again. Cygnus walked over to her and scooped her into his arms. "My god, are you insane?! You could've killed her!" He wanted to slap his wife for treating her like that, but he couldn't do that in front of Bellatrix.

Cygnus carried her back to his study and left her to recuperate in the overstuffed chair sitting across from his desk. She heard a bit of yelling before she curled up and fell asleep.

A year later, Bellatrix viewed another encounter that transpired in that study. Something not entirely different from her experiences with that rat in the back yard, and her mother in the kitchen.

Bellatrix was watching from the door of the study. Initially, the sharp crack she had heard of her father aparating had awoken her.

She was in bedclothes; Druella would probably beat her senseless if she were found awake and out of bed.

"Filthy mudblood," Cygnus muttered

"Please! Please, let me go! I have a wife and a family! Two little girls and a son!" The man in the chair was sobbing.

Bellatrix was curious.

"It is quite simple," Cygnus' voice was soft, "you tell me exactly what I want to hear and on command, and you'll go home to your wife and children, safe and sound. Disobey me once, and we'll see how the Cruciatis Curse works. Disobey me again," Cygnus paused at this point and caressed the grain of his wand with his fingertips, "well, let's just hope it doesn't come to that."

"Please! I'll say anything you want! Just don't kill me!" the Man begged.

"Stop," Cygnus said gently at first, but when the man did not cease to weep, he grabbed him ferociously by his shirt and shook him, "stop that sobbing you fool!" Cygnus dropped him back into the chair. Bellatrix continued to watch with avid interest.

"Now, how many people have you told?" Cygnus asked.

"No one, no one I swear!" the Man whimpered.

"Come now, don't lie to me," Cygnus' voice reminded Bella of the way he spoke to her.

"Just one person," the Man breathed.

"What was his name?"

Bellatrix didn't catch the name; she had heard footsteps upstairs and concealed herself in the shadows.

"Crucio," Cygnus hissed.

Bellatrix watched through the crack in the door as her father grew further dissatisfied with the man's answers. At the same time, she remembered that pain in her stomach- the way it seared like a burn and stabbed like a knife.

Finally, everything was over with the soft utterance, "Avada Kadavra," and a flash of green light. The body dissipated like spring mist.

Cygnus walked to the door and pulled it open. "Bella, why aren't you in bed?" His voice wasn't worried, or angry or upset, only soft and curious.

"I'm sorry, papa, I wanted to tell you good night," she said. "I heard you aparate."

"Come here, child," he led her into the study and sat with her in the chair where the man had been. A slight nervousness rose within her; she was afraid that the man might possibly return and crush her. "You saw papa with that man, didn't you?" Cygnus asked.

Bellatrix nodded. "Where did he go?" she asked.

"Home," he replied softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Oh."

After a pause, Cygnus spoke again, "It's past your bed time, my love, off you go," he told her. Bellatrix got off her father's lap and walked to the study door. "Good night papa." She said softly.

"Pleasant dreams, my darling," he replied. And with that, Bellatrix quietly went upstairs to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

-in progress-

"What else is on the list, Cygnus?" Druella asked. They were out and about in Diagon Alley doing Bellatrix's school shopping. The biggest mistake turned out to be bringing Narcissa and Andromeda along, as the two of them seemed to be doing exactly the opposite of what their parents told the to.

Diagon Alley was bustling with last minute shoppers; the days before the start of the new terms were down to three. Druella was miserable, but insisted she come along. Secretively, this was probably to keep a leash on Cygnus so he wouldn't throw away too much money on Bellatrix.

"We've gotten your books," he looked down at Bellatrix, who was holding his hand and staring back up at him with idolizing eyes. "You've got your books, quills, potions supplies, parchment. Still no pet or wand though," he winked at her.

"Druella, you're looking absolutely worn. Why don't you take the girls back to the Leaky Cauldron for some lunch and Bellatrix and I will finish up here?" Cygnus suggested.

Druella opened her mouth to disapprove, but her wheezing and hacking fits flared up again. She was forced to surrender, needing to get out of the crowded alleyway. She nodded and took her younger daughters by the hand, taking them back to the small pub.

"I thought we'd never lose her," Cygnus nudged Bellatrix with a grin.

The pair of them pushed into Ollivander's laughing happily.

"Good afternoon!" Ollivander smiled. "Cygnus Black. Don't tell me. It's an...eleven inch rosewood with a dragon heart string core?"

"Indeed it is," Cygnus replied coolly.

"And what do we need today?"

"My daughter is in need of a wand," Cygnus rested his hands on Bellatrix's shoulders. She looked up at him and then back at the wand maker, a little timid.

"Try...this one. Birch, nine and a half inches, unicorn hair core."

Bellatrix looked up at Cygnus for his approval, and only after he nodded, did she flick the wand.

She jumped at the reaction the wand gave, shattering several glass cases before she sheepishly put it down on the counter.

"Not to worry my dear. We'll find it."

"How will we know?" Bellatrix asked softly.

"Trust me, dear, you'll know," Mr. Ollivander handed her another wand. "Willow, ten and three quarter inches. Veela hair core."

Bellatrix flicked this wand cautiously, and was glad to see there was no affect at all.

"Perhaps..." Ollivander began mumbling to himself as he pulled a wand from one of his shelves. "This. Twelve and three quarter inches, walnut, with a dragon heart string core. It is most unyielding."

Bellatrix took it in her hand and felt a nice soft breeze of golden warmth graze her face.

"Third time is always the charm. That is one fine wand, Miss Black. I expect you will do great things with it," he smiled kindly to her.

Bellatrix still looked a bit nervous, and was more than happy to leave the shop after her father purchased the wand.

"And now for a pet. What will it be my darling? A cat? An owl? Whatever you want my love, and it is yours," he steered her into the pet shop though Bellatrix was still fixated on her wand.

They browsed the selection of animals for only a few minutes until she came across a magnificent Eurasian Tawny Owl.

"That's the one, papa," she smiled brightly.

A few moments later they walked out of the shop and headed toward the Cauldron. Bellatrix was admiring her new owl when her father finally asked what she was going to name him.

"Beloved, I think," she said looking into the bird's eyes. He seemed to hoot affectionately at the concept of the name and inched closer on his perch, trying to nibble her fingers.

"A fine name for a fine bird," Cygnus remarked. "I think he rather likes you."

Bellatrix was beaming. And all the way home, she couldn't stop bragging about what a magnificent owl he was.

The next three days had passed much quicker than Bellatrix would've liked. Before she knew it, she was standing on Platform 9 and ¾. Her mother and sisters were home, Druella still wasn't feeling well.

"Will you write to me every day, papa?" Bellatrix's eyes were shining.

"Every single one until the holidays, my darling," he replied.

"I wish you could come with me," her eyes were pooling up now.

"You know I can't. I'm very busy, love. Now behave yourself, Bella," he smoothed her black hair and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder.


End file.
